Cyclists with a "Running" Problem

[Tubehunter]

Hard luck Hacc... bad days at the office always suck.

 

Just a pointer on the race traffic, always go on google maps when on your way, we went straight past the long queue(already a km plus long before 5am) on the highway to the next off-ramp at Snake Road. Was very quick and easy from there with hardly any cars coming in from the other side!

 

I use WAZE. It's so useful to have realtime traffic alerts as to what is happening. I drive with it on permanently now and have all my regular spots saved as favourites. Been especially helpful for the any of the typical road events you would like to know about enroute! Glad to hear google have released their own version.

[Andrew Steer]

last year I did 295 km in Jan...this year I will have done 190km only!

 

I'm hoping it will mean I wont peak in March like last year though!

 

I am glad I am not alone. Feeling very distraught right now. I am not even close to the kms I am supposed to be doing now.

I also keep going thru the same cycle: try to train, feel crap, rest, feel guilty for resting, try to train etc...

 

Have you been to a doctor?

That's the pressure of Comrades... I think a lot of us feel it and don't recover/rest properly when we've had a setback. I've still not kicked this post nasal (I must have cleared my nose a couple dozen times on Sunday - maybe that's why I was dehydrated?  )

We're always chasing the game, trying to ramp things up when maybe some proper rest and recuperation would have been wiser in the long run.

 

Bottom line, there is still plenty of time - best to hit March/April ready for the big miles than to panic now in Jan. 

[Stretch]

Thanks, Stretch, you are right, it is still early... but we are runners, and it is the end of the world if you miss one long run or you are 20/30 seconds of your pace.

 

Good grief, 295km in January already?? 

 

that was last Year!

[Stretch]

Hard luck Hacc... bad days at the office always suck.

 

Just a pointer on the race traffic, always go on google maps when on your way, we went straight past the long queue(already a km plus long before 5am) on the highway to the next off-ramp at Snake Road. Was very quick and easy from there with hardly any cars coming in from the other side!

 

whenever I go on a trip I use Google maps and Fastest route..it once diverted me through the great wilds (literally!) to avoid a jam on the freeway...but got home an hour and half earlier than the person who left the same time as us and didnt use google maps......

[Andrew Steer]

whenever I go on a trip I use Google maps and Fastest route..it once diverted me through the great wilds (literally!) to avoid a jam on the freeway...but got home an hour and half earlier than the person who left the same time as us and didnt use google maps......

I've definitely seen some places I wouldn't have thanks to it too... 

 

Always generally quicker though! Unless you end up on a 4X4 track in your sedan...

[IceCreamMan]

I can only describe JC as my worst running race ever... Started off in the gridlock traffic after we left at 3:45, and getting to Tom Jones at 4:40. At 5:50 we were still in the car, I jumped out to go to the loo, ran to the start and started 5 minutes late.

I always stay at the Sun1 hotel in Benoni, its 500 metres from the start. The traffic is always madness hence the last 2 years I stay in the hotel. Get up at 5:15 and make the start comfortably.

[Mr Winter]

I always stay at the Sun1 hotel in Benoni, its 500 metres from the start. The traffic is always madness hence the last 2 years I stay in the hotel. Get up at 5:15 and make the start comfortably.

 

That sounds a lot better than my 03:30 start on Sunday

[Jackes]

I currently run with Falke AR1 hidden socks.  However I have a spot in my Brooks that irritates me and I have found that with thicker socks it is much better, to the extent that it is almost gone.

 

I have found that my trail running falke's works great, but I'm just concerned that they might become a bit too hot (not sure I'm going to be able to get past this with thicker socks) and I also don't like the fact that they are not hidden but ankle lenght.

 

Is there socks in the other brands that might be the ones that I'm looking for, as I can't find the right ones here...

 

Or should I get the 1000 mile double layers?

[Lexx]

I use falke and they are pretty good.

[Edgar]

Jackes,

 

I have a similar problem with my NB 1080. Couldn't run 5km in them without a blister forming from the irritation. 

 

Solution: Bought some Kinesio Tape, which I now tape over the spot and no problems so far. Longest run I have done like this was Johnson on the weekend.

 

I hope it helps. A lot cheaper than throwing the shoes away. 

[Mudsimus]

I only run with Versus socks, even the thinner one is thicker than normal running socks.

[Jackes]

I only run with Versus socks, even the thinner one is thicker than normal running socks.

They don't have hidden socks, only long ones?

[Stretch]

I run  with whatever is in the poobies 3 pairs for 30 bucks bin...they are usually falkes.

 

for comrades I buy a thick pair of falkes

 

First comrades I rain in adidas socks and they were useless

[Mudsimus]

They don't have hidden socks, only long ones?

Only long ones

[Jackes]

 

for comrades I buy a thick pair of falkes

 

 

Which ones Stretch?

[Barry Stuart]

So Johnson Crane turned from an absolute disaster into a blast. My wife was doing the 21 whilst I was hoping to sort out my qualification for Comrades after cocking up Soweto by running with the wrong chip.

 

Like Hacc, we also got stuck in the traffic jam. It took us about an hour and 15 minutes to get from the turnoff to the parking lot. There's something supremely disheartening about sitting in your car on the way to a race you've prepped for and hearing the gun followed by a horde of runners down the adjacent street. My wife was pretty gutted, she had really psyched herself up to put in a quick half marathon time and she wanted to just turn around and go but I persuaded her to join me on the 42 course and use it as a training run since she's never done a 42 before.

 

We got to the start about 35 minutes late, joining the back of the 5km fun run crowd and set off. It was actually damn pleasant running along totally empty roads for the best part of 45 minutes. I had been warned about the psychology of running a second lap on a course but to be honest I had enjoyed the first 21 so much that I was quite happy to run it again for the second lap.

 

In the end my wife hit the wall at about 35km, which was to be expected as she'd eaten a very light breakfast, had no nutrition with her and found herself running her first marathon in the spur of the moment. I've never seen real pain on her face before but she dragged herself to the finish like a trooper. We got home in 3:33 on our watches though we didn't get any recorded time because we were so late over the mat but it was hella fun running her first 42 with her.

 

I've now done two marathons and still don't have a qualification under my belt… my organization leaves a lot to be desired. So, hopefully third time is the charm.

 

My bigger problem now, though, is that my wife wants to run Comrades so if anyone knows of an entry going come the transfer window please let me know. My poor kids are going to be running orphans.